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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — money
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bound — certain
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. band — a music group
  21. bound — obliged
  22. band — a ring
  23. capital — a city
  24. patient — calm and waiting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com